Local Obesity Prevalence and Corporate Policies
Forthcoming, Quarterly Journal of Finance, 2018
49 Pages Posted: 4 Sep 2016 Last revised: 31 Jan 2018
Date Written: January 2, 2018
Abstract
Consistent with prior findings that obese individuals tend to be more risk-averse and myopic, we find that firms located in areas with higher obesity rates invest less, grow more slowly, are less profitable, and have higher stock volatility. We mitigate identification concerns by using an instrumental variables approach, testing for local managers and local shareholders as channels for these effects, and ruling out several alternative explanations, thereby favoring a causal interpretation of our results. Finally, both genetic and environmental factors appear to contribute to these effects. Our findings suggest that physical characteristics of the local population also affect the policies of local firms.
Keywords: Obesity, Corporate policies, Risk-taking, Myopia
JEL Classification: G02, G30, I12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation